Ithaca granted pipeline access for GSA project

Ithaca Energy Inc. has announced that good progress has been made on the final stages of the ‘FPF-1’ commissioning programme and completion of the various system handovers to operations is imminent. Preparation of the FPF-1 for departure from the shipyard in Poland is well advanced.

Additionally, access has been secured to a major oil export pipeline, the Norpipe oil pipeline system, for future GSA production, allowing a switch from tanker loading during 2017. The move to pipeline exports significantly enhances the long-term value of the GSA production hub, reducing fixed operating costs, enhancing operational uptime and improving reserves recovery.

Norpipe is approximately 350 km in length. It runs from the Ekofisk offshore production facilities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to a dedicated oil processing facility at Teesside in the UK, with various UK fields exporting into the system via a spurline.

The net capital expenditure associated with the work programme is estimated at US$20 million, with the majority being paid in 2017.